As You Were
by Lorelaispartz
Summary: Draco Malfoy is certain that he can seduce any and every girl at Hogwarts, and when a Slytherin vixen makes him an offer he can't refuse, unexpected things begin to unfold. What begins as a bet turns into a mess that is centered around one thing: love.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ****I own nothing, except any original characters.**

**Author's Note: So, I totally had another entire, complex story that I had planned to do after finishing "Walk the Line," but, due to some things that have happened in reality, the concept of that story was no longer something that I wanted to work on. Instead, I give you this! :) I was watching "Cruel Intentions" the other day, and inspiration struck. However, keep in mind that this is extremely LOOSELY based on that movie. I wanted something with a little more heart and I wanted to put my own spin on it, seeing as a lot of other writers were also inspired to do an HP story with that movie in mind. Also, I just wanted to address this because it was concerning me for some reason, but I am hoping that anyone who read my other stories won't be making comparisons between my character, Raynea, and the character in this story. They are, like, pretty much polar opposites. Like, honestly, they aren't even comparable. So, please don't go in with a closed mind cause I'm putting Draco with another OC. I'm just a dang creep and find him psychologically interesting, so I think of a bunch of different personality types that would compliment him, lol. This is also a very different story than the other two I have posted on here. That one was all plot, plot, plot, drama, drama, drama...this is more fun :D and, yes, there is some drama, but it's the fun kind. I just wanted to throw out something that was different from what else I have done.**

**Also...I'm really torn on how to rate this. Help! There's more sexual-content-like crap than there was in my other fics, but I don't do the whole smut thing, so it's not gonna be super dirty, like, AT ALL. So, if you review [which I hope you do :)] please let me know what the rating should be. I'm gonna leave it to M, just for safety. Even though, I really think it's T, but whatev...better safe than sorry! Anyway, please, please, please review! It'll be super appreciated, feedback is awesome. Thanks a bunch! :)**

**And now for something completely different...**

Pansy Parkinson plopped down onto one of the leather couches that occupied the Slytherin common room, scoffing as she did so. Her eyes darted upwards and she narrowed them as Draco Malfoy stepped in front of her seated form. He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, buttoning up the top buttons of his shirt before redirecting his attention to his pouting girlfriend.

"Don't throw a fit, Pansy. I'm just not in the mood…" he said in annoyance as he took a seat on the coffee table.

Pansy scoffed once again, then shot up from the couch and began pacing the room impatiently.

"We've spent an entire summer apart, Draco! You should've been begging me on the train," she exclaimed.

"Calm down," Draco snapped, "Can't a bloke just not be in the mood? Why does it have to be the crisis of the bloody universe?"

"Because we've started out term the exact same way since our fourth year, even before we started dating," Pansy pointed out, "Why should this year be any different?"

"Stop and consider the fact that I'm bored with our usual routine. It's so…been there…done that…" Draco trailed off, emphasizing his point by yawning and offering her a cold smirk.

"Screw you!" Pansy yelled as she headed towards the hallway that led to the girls' dormitories.

"You've already tried that this evening, darling. Give it a rest," he returned haughtily.

Pansy groaned in frustration and continued into the hallway, refusing to look back at him.

"We're through, jackass!"

Draco's smirk only grew as he draped his tie over his shoulder and stood up from his seat on the coffee table.

"Let's see how long that'll last this time."

He couldn't deny that he was deeply amused by his "on-again-off-again" relationship with Pansy. No matter how many times they broke up, she would always come crawling back to him. Draco's humorous musings were disrupted by the chatter of his fellow Slytherins as they entered the common room. The start-of-term feast had just ended, but of course he had missed it, just as he had for the last few years. It wasn't a huge loss to him. Besides, if he really had a desire to know what he had missed, he had plenty of people who could fill him in on the details. In fact, he was greeted by the face of Blaise Zabini almost immediately. The smile on his best friend's face interested him; it could only mean that some sort of delicious drama had occurred at the feast.

"I know that look, Zabini," Draco said, "What horrible event occurred to entertain us for this evening?"

"Huge public break up between Theodore Knott and Daphne Greengrass. It was a true classic," Blaise told him, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as he spoke.

"It's a shame I missed it," Draco replied, "You know how much I love public displays of misery."

"You'll just have to catch the next one, mate. Besides, I'm sure things were much more exciting down here with you and Pansy," Blaise said, raising his eyebrows.

"Hardly, the girl's a massive bore. She ended things, anyhow."

"Hmm, wonder how long that'll last this time…"Blaise thought aloud, his tone dripping with dark amusement.

"My thoughts exactly," Draco agreed.

"Perhaps you should take bets on when the reunion will be," said a smooth voice that came from behind Blaise.

A dark-haired beauty appeared before them, her lips twisted into a smile and her eyes fixed on the blonde boy. Esther Sinclair, best friend to Pansy Parkinson, alleged "tease" of the Slytherin house and an obsession of Draco Malfoy's.

"Oh, that would be too easy, now wouldn't it Sinclair?" Draco shot back, "We all know it never lasts longer than twenty-four hours."

Esther raised her eyebrows in agreement.

"I would never take bets against Pansy, anyway. She's a saint for staying with you," she commented.

"Or maybe I'm a saint for letting her stay with me," Draco corrected, "You know that I could do better than her, and I would be surprised if she didn't know it too."

"I reckon that's why she's always so quick to forgive," Blaise added on.

"Regardless, be nice to her, Malfoy," Esther said with a cool smile.

"I'll be nice to her…"Draco began before taking a step closer to Esther, licking his lips and looking her up and down slowly, "If you're nice to me…"

Blaise smirked and backed away from the pair.

"If it's all the same to you two, I'll be in my dormitory. I'm not one for watching my best mate get shot down again," he laughed.

Draco narrowed his eyes and turned his head towards the other boy.

"Good night, _Blaise_," he said through gritted teeth. Blaise merely chuckled again before heading towards the boys' dormitories. Once he was out of sight, Draco turned his head back towards Esther and smirked as he took another step closer to her.

"Now, where were we…?"

"I was about to surrender to you…after all these years," Esther said, feigning weakness, "I don't know how I've made it this long without you, Draco. I can't deny this…chemistry between us…"

"Don't toy with me, Sinclair. You could get into a lot of trouble for that. You've already been labeled a tease by the entire Slytherin house," Draco reminded her arrogantly.

"Let the people think what they want, it keeps things interesting."

"I know a way we could make things more interesting," Draco said, stepping even closer and sliding his index finger beneath her chin. He allowed his breath to caress her face and his smirk grew even more devilish.

"Don't waste your time, Draco." Esther backed away from him, a grin still gracing her face. She cocked an eyebrow. At this, Draco actually became frustrated.

"You really are a bloody tease, Sinclair."

"Am I?" she countered, "Because I don't recall giving you any indication that I wanted to 'make things more interesting' with you."

"But_I_ want it," Draco said conceitedly, "And I usually get what I want."

Esther smiled and stepped forward so that almost no space existed between them. Her eyes flashed up to his face and she let her lips graze his neck. She heard his breath hitch, which made her smile grow before she moved on to bite his earlobe softly. He groaned slightly and she stopped the action, her grin ever present.

"Not this time," she whispered in his ear before backing away from him, waving tauntingly and heading towards the girls' dormitories.

Draco gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly.

"Bitch," he said under his breath as he stared after Esther's retreating figure.

The first day of term was just as boring as Draco had expected it to be. Though, it was still early in the evening, so there was a small chance that some sort of drama would unfold to offer him a little bit of entertainment. Much to his surprise, Pansy hadn't come crawling back to him yet. Of course, that concerned him little. His interest in renewing their relationship was minimal at best. No, he was quite certain that he would take this time to play the field, which is what he chose to do in between break ups with Pansy anyway. His conquest for that evening: the vulnerable and recently available Daphne Greengrass. He had made charming small talk with her all throughout dinner, so by the time he would decide to approach her in the common room, she would be his for the taking.

After spending some time discussing his plans for the evening with Blaise in their dormitory, Draco headed into the common room to confront Daphne. He spotted her immediately; she was sitting on one of the couches casually chatting with another girl. A devilish smile covered Draco's face as his eyes burned holes through her robes.

"Prepping for another night of seduction, are we, Malfoy?" asked the sexy and unforgettable voice of Esther Sinclair. Draco turned around slowly to face her, the twisted smile never leaving his pale, pointed face.

"Nah, we all know I'm saving myself for you, Sinclair," he shot back wryly.

"I'm flattered," Esther said, the sarcasm in her tone unmistakable, "Too bad you're Pansy's ex and I'm not interested."

"Well, you're half right," Draco returned as he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Don't make me reject you again so soon, Draco; it's not quite as fun as it used to be. I'm starting to actually feel a little sorry for you."

"Maybe I'm just wearing you down."

"Don't think so," Esther said, offering him a big smile, "Good luck with Daphne."

She began to walk away, leaving Draco completely entranced behind her. He had almost forgotten completely about what he had planned to do with Daphne.

After Esther had separated from Malfoy, she was feeling rather satisfied. Toying with him was so easy, and oh so fun. She down the hall and made an immediate left turn to enter her dormitory. Upon her arrival, she saw Pansy sprawled out on her four poster. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was glaring at the ceiling as if it had done her some great personal wrong.

"Not having a good day, Pans?" Esther asked as she slowly sat down on her own bed.

"Not exactly," Pansy responded.

"Care to talk about it?"

"No."

"Alright, whatever you say," Esther said. She slipped out of her robes, removed her tie and retrieved her pajamas from her trunk in an effort to prepare for bed. However, she anticipated that Pansy would start into a rant any minute now.

"_Three…two…one…_"

"He's just such a jackass!" Pansy shouted, snapping up from her horizontal position and clawing into the linens of her bed forcefully.

"I'm assuming we're talking about Draco?" Esther inquired smoothly.

"Yes! Ugh, he's just so smug…flirting with Daphne Greengrass right in front of me! He's got some nerve…"

"The bloke's a bad seed," Esther teased, finding it difficult to mask her amusement. She felt sorry for Pansy the first time they had broken up…and the second…and the time after that, but after awhile she couldn't feel any remorse. Pansy continually put herself in a bad situation, and she wouldn't listen to reason. So, Esther stopped trying to offer advice and instead decided to serve as a confidant. She couldn't help it if listening to Pansy rant gave her a little private amusement.

"I'm serious, Esther!" Pansy whined, "He and I are over, I mean it."

"Good," Esther replied, "It's about time."

"I'm gonna find a new guy, just to show him that I've moved on."

"Nice, I'd suggest Theodore Knott. He'll be looking for a rebound since he and Daphne had a parting of the ways. He can be your…transition guy. Then, you can move onto someone better afterwards," Esther explained confidently before smiling.

"Yes, that's perfect!" Pansy squealed, "But I want Draco to suffer; seeing me with Theodore won't be enough. He has a ton of sluts to keep him preoccupied."

"Leave Draco's suffering to me," Esther said, "I've still got plenty of tricks up my sleeve."

The girls exchanged a smile.

"I've just heard some very interesting news," Esther said with a sexy, yet darkly amused grin. She slid down onto the couch beside Blaise and crossed her legs slowly, which automatically caught the attention of Draco, who was sitting in an arm chair across from her. He smirked and let his eyes trail over her gradually, hoping that she would notice his actions. She cocked an eyebrow at him before turning to Blaise.

"Well, spill it then," he urged.

"My sources tell me that Harry Potter has just broken it off with his gorgeous, yet slightly loose girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. And let's just say that the split wasn't exactly amicable," Esther told them as her full lips contorted into an even more twisted smile.

"So, who cares about Gryffindor drama?" Draco sneered.

"Gossip is gossip, Draco," Esther said, "And…learning about their separation gave me an idea, but since you've made it clear that you're not interested…"

Esther uncrossed her legs and rose from the couch before heading towards the girls' dormitories. Draco and Blaise exchanged a look, suddenly more intrigued by the information Esther had shared with them.

"I've had a change of heart, Sinclair," Draco called after her, "Now, tell me about this idea of yours."

Esther spun around and offered him a smirk.

"Hmm, perhaps in a little while. I'm off to take a nice, hot, long bath, and afterwards I'll be drying off naked in my room…" she trailed off and bit her lip, "Maybe you can stop by then and we can have a chat."

"Will do," Draco said smugly, not evening trying to mask the fact that he was aroused.

"See you later, boys," Esther replied with a wink before disappearing down the hall.

"Man, she's good," Blaise commented. He exhaled heavily and smirked.

"Oh, I intend to find that out first hand," Draco said pompously. His lips twisted into another smile.

When Draco entered Esther's dorm, he found that he was still somewhat surprised to see her sprawled out across her four poster, clad only in a towel that reached from the top of her chest to her mid thigh. He breathed out slowly and smirked.

"Malfoy…I was wondering when you'd show up," Esther stated with a smile. She sat up and stretched before treading over to the chair beside her bed to retrieve her clothes.

"Well, you've caught my interest, Sinclair…in more ways than one." She smirked.

"Why don't you take a seat, and I'll get dressed," Esther suggested.

"Go right ahead," he said, plopping down into the chair and leaning back without taking his eyes off of her.

"Have you ever heard of a thing called modesty, Draco?"

He sighed mockingly before shielding his eyes with his hands. After a moment, he felt something land on top of his head and face. The dampness of the object alerted him to the fact that Esther had tossed her towel on top of him. He smirked beneath it.

"Sinclair…you amaze me," he told her slyly.

"You and many others," she returned.

After a minute or two, Draco felt that the towel was lifted from his head and he was faced with the sight of a fully dressed Esther.

"May we talk business now?" he questioned.

"We may," Esther said as she exhaled and plopped down onto her bed, "Now, you recall what I told you about Potter and the Weasley girl?"

"Yes, and would you mind explaining why this would be of any interest to me?"

"Patience, Malfoy…have I ever led you astray before?"

"Just get to it, Sinclair."

"Well, this tragic break up has left both Potter and the Weasley slut feeling very sad and vulnerable…and I'm suggesting that you take advantage of that vulnerability."

"You want me to go after Ginny Weasley?" Draco asked, completely deadpan.

"You make it sound so boring," Esther laughed, "I care to make it interesting."

"Do I smell a bet?" Draco asked.

"It's been ages since we've had a good one."

"Could you be more specific about the terms of this bet?"

"I was thinking…while I came up with the idea for you to seduce Weasley, I started to have serious doubts about whether or not you would be able to do it," Esther explained.

"Are we dealing with a virgin, here?" Draco questioned as his smirk grew.

"Sadly, no. However, while she and Potter_ did _have a very committed relationship, they didn't exactly get around to doing anything…"

"I think I'm starting to understand you a little better."

"Exactly, not only do you get another notch on the belt, but once word of it gets out, Potter will be devastated," Esther said, "which I'm sure is just a plus for you."

"Obviously," Draco agreed, "but, you don't think I can do it?"

"No…I truly don't," Esther replied coolly, "Her loyalties to the campus's golden boy are too strong, despite her hurt feelings."

"Don't be so sure of that," Draco said conceitedly, "I'm more than capable of getting the job done, but I'd like to up the stakes."

"Care to explain?" Esther cocked her eyebrow.

"I want you to get in on this."

"Meaning…?"

"Go after Potter," Draco stated simply, "his heart, I mean. I want to see if Slytherin's biggest tease could win the heart of Saint Potter."

"Please, that'll be almost too easy," Esther scoffed.

"Really?" Draco mocked, "I have my doubts about whether or not _you _could get the job done."

"I can…and I will," Esther said coldly.

"I'll have plowed Weasley long before you've even made the slightest bit of progress with Potter," Draco told her.

"Then it's decided, whoever succeeds first will be our winner," Esther announced with a dark smile.

"Fine with me," he chuckled, "So…what do I get _when _I win?"

"Well, when _I _win, I want that fancy broom of yours that you're always bragging about," Esther declared.

"You're family's just as wealthy as mine, go and buy your own," Draco snapped, obviously not willing to part from one of his most prized possessions.

"You're missing the point, Draco," she said amusedly, "Buying something is not nearly as fun as winning it…and depriving someone else of it until the end of term."

"Fine," he gave in, "And…if I win…?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"That's an easy one," Esther replied, "If you win…you get me."

Draco's smirk grew as he licked his lips. That was just the answer he was hoping for, though he was shocked that Esther would be so willing to bet herself. There had to be a catch.

"I am intrigued," Draco admitted, "but I'm also not an idiot. When you say 'you,' in what capacity?"

"Well…" Esther trailed off as she elevated one eyebrow. She paced over to the chair and lowered herself in front of him. She slowly slid her hands up his thighs and thrust herself between his knees before grabbing either of his hands and placing them just below the back of her skirt. "I'm offering everything you see here…plus everything you don't…"

Draco chuckled and raised his eyebrows once again. He moved his hands up to her arse and gave it a quick squeeze before removing himself from her altogether.

"Sinclair, you've got yourself a deal."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey, so yeah...haven't updated this story in forever. Year's been crazy, 'nough said. However! I am now on summer break so more writing is to come! (: I really hope you all still have interest in this story, it's been forever so idk if you'll still care but whatev, i'm hoping you like it anyways! This is kinda a transitional chapter so give shit a chance to get more juicy later on hahah. Anyways, as always please review, for it is much appreciated! And i really hope you enjoy, thank you so much for your reading and patience. (: **

"You mean to tell me that Esther Sinclair actually offered herself to you as bait for a bet?" Blaise exclaimed after hearing about the terms of the deal that Draco and the brunette beauty had made.

"Trust me Blaise, I wouldn't lie about this," Draco returned smugly, "…well I would, but it's the truth."

"Nice work," Blaise complimented, "Do you think you'll actually be able to do it?"

"Please," Draco scoffed, "That bitch'll be riding me by the end of the week."

"If you say so," Blaise laughed as he turned over onto his four poster.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Draco," said a smooth, cool voice coming from the doorway. Suddenly, the boys were joined by their roommate Lucas Briggs, a handsome yet devilish boy not much unlike themselves. He wasn't exactly a favorite of Draco's, but he didn't mind the bloke's company every once in a while. This was not one of those moments.

"What makes you say that, Briggs?" Draco demanded coldly.

A slight smirk formed on Lucas's face as he crossed the room and planted himself down on his four poster. He folded his hands deviously before his eyes flashed up to Draco, who merely shot him a dirty look.

"Well, many things," he returned.

"Elaborate," Draco said.

"For one thing…" The boy trailed off simply to get under Draco's skin, which only caused the blonde to become even more impatient.

"Get on with it."

"Well, let's just say…I know something you don't know…"

"Why don't you clue us in here, Briggs?" Blaise chimed in, bored of the mind games that Lucas attempted to play on his best friend.

"What would you say if I told you that our dear friend Esther was a virgin?" Lucas asked as his smirk widened.

Draco's jaw dropped as he pondered what Lucas had just said. There was no way…

"I have an errand to run," he announced as he hopped up from his four poster and treaded to the doorway. There was no way he was going to take Lucas's word for it. He wanted to do his research. If what his roommate told him was true, Draco was going to enjoy this bet a lot more than he originally thought.

Draco entered the Slytherin common room and was not surprised to find Esther spread out about the couch having what seemed to be a deep conversation with Pansy. He rolled his eyes, not in the mood to deal with his ex, but he was willing to chance it in order to get some insight from Esther. He approached the pair of girls, and cleared his throat loudly in order to catch their attention. Pansy merely snarled when she saw him, while Esther made eye contact and raised her eye brow at him coyly.

"Sorry to interrupt girl talk," Draco said patronizingly, "but I would like to speak to—"

"Save it, Draco. I don't wanna talk to you," Pansy snapped, crossing her arms over her chest haughtily. Draco chuckled for a moment before addressing the girls again.

"Actually Pansy, it was your best friend I wanted to have a word with."

This statement seemed to only add to Pansy's agitation as she jumped up from the couch and stomped to the hallway that led to the girls' dormitories, leaving Draco and Esther to have their conversation.

"How may I help you, Draco?" Esther asked, her throaty voice more appealing to him now than ever.

"I need you to verify a rumor I heard about you," Draco told her smoothly as he took a seat beside her on the green, leather couch.

"A rumor?" she questioned, "Hmm…sounds interesting, do tell."

"Well, word has it that you're a…virgin," he explained, his lips contorting into a smirk as he said the last word.

"Yes," Esther verified as she rose her eye brow once again, "And?"

"Nothing," Draco laughed darkly, "I was just surprised to hear it."

"Well how about that."

"You do realize that you just got ten times sexier in less than ten minutes, right?"

"I did?" Esther asked before smiling slyly, "Good to know."

Draco was simply floored by her calmness.

"You do remember what I get when I win this bet right?"

"Oh, I remember," she assured him, "but you're not gonna win, so I'm not worried."

Draco stood up from his place on the couch as his smirk grew even bigger.

"We'll see about that," he returned with an eye brow raise, "The games begin tomorrow…you sure you're ready for it?"

Esther rolled her eyes playfully before uncrossing her legs and also rising to her feet. She clapped Draco on the shoulder and smiled.

"Don't you worry about me, Draco. I'll be just fine, I'd be more worried about myself if I were you."

She tugged on his belt buckle quickly and flashed her eyes up to his, then turned to walk towards the girls' dormitories.

"Goodnight," she sang. Draco just continued to smirk at her retreating figure.

The next day, Draco was more than ready to put "Operation: Bed Ginny Weasley" into action. He had spent the whole night scheming, and knew what his approach would be. He considered trying to play the whole "my meanness is a façade of how broken I really am inside" tactic…but that was just too obvious. He needed something more complex. Instead, he figured he was just play up his main strength: manipulation. However, before he could get to that stage, he had to place himself in Ginny's vicinity. He started out in the courtyard, a place where a lot of students decided to hang out when they had a midday break in their class schedules. But, much to his dismay, she was not there. His next stop was the library, and he was lucky enough to find her sitting at one of the back tables studying like mad. He slowly approached the table, not wanting to make his presence so obvious that she merely relocated herself upon his arrival.

Once he was right in front of the table, Draco was not surprised when the girl didn't look up. She seemed very engrossed in studying…that, and even if she did notice him she still probably wouldn't pay attention. He smirked and cleared his throat loudly.

"Hitting the books pretty hard, aren't we Weasley?"

Ginny looked up at him and instantly rolled her eyes before slamming her books shut as if she was ready to pick up and leave.

"What could you possibly want from me, Malfoy?" she demanded impatiently.

"Who says I want anything? Maybe I just wanna talk…"

"Just talk…to me? You do realize I hate you, right?" Ginny asked.

"I'm aware of that fact, yes," he shrugged, "but that's not gonna stop me."

"Well, just because you wanna talk to me doesn't mean I'm gonna waste my time talking to you."

"Oh come on, Weasley. Trust me, the topic I have in mind will definitely be of interest to you."

She rose from her chair and glared at him before crossing her arms over her chest. He could tell she was a second away from bolting. He had to just get to the point already, as much as he did enjoy the buildup.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, "Fine then, what is it Malfoy?"

"I heard you and Potter had a parting of the ways," he said.

Immediately, Ginny's face fell and a layer of tears coated her deep blue eyes. Obviously, he had hit a nerve. Perfect.

"No," she hissed, "No, no, no. I am not talking about this, especially not with you."

"Oh, come on Weasley," Draco pressured, "Might as well talk about it with someone you hate. You know all your Gryffindor friends would just go side with him. Let an impartial person give you their expertise, ay?"

Ginny seriously seemed to consider his words, which only caused the smirk on his face to grow. After a moment of pondering it, she blinked back tears and gave him a deadly glare.

"I wouldn't talk to you about this if you were the last person on this damn earth," she snarled before gathering up her belongings and storming away from the table.

Though he should have been expected to take this as a defeat, Draco instead saw this as a victory. Phase one of his plan was complete. He cocked an eyebrow and smiled to himself before sauntering out of the library.

That very same day, Esther had started her own scheme to win her end of the bargain. She was lucky enough to have the same Charms class as her target: Harry. All throughout class, she had noticed that he seemed pretty down, probably due to his fresh break-up with Ginny. However, despite this, she obviously kept shooting him looks and was satisfied to find that he was making eye contact with her. It was a small thing, but it all factored into the plan. Once they were dismissed from class, Esther timed it perfectly so that both she and Harry were exiting the room at the same time. This gave her ample opportunity to catch his attention. Obviously, the whole Gryffindor vs. Slytherin debacle would make it hard for her to worm her way into his world, but Esther was a Slytherin, after all. Therefore, she was a master manipulator.

As both she and Harry passed through the door way of their classroom at the exact same time, she "accidentally" brushed arms with him. He looked over at her quickly, and she merely flashed him a coy yet apologetic smile. He shook his head and redirected his gaze forward as they both trekked through the mass of people in the hallway. Esther took this as her opportunity to make the first verbal contact.

"Am I the only one who thought Charms class was a massive bore?" she asked quietly with a smile.

Harry offered a confused yet soft smile and shrugged. Dammit, he was a shy one. However, Esther was more than certain that she could fix that.

"Oh come on, is my small talk that bad?" the girl inquired with a chuckle. Harry gave her a fast glance but looked forward as they continued to walk through the hall.

"No," he returned, "I guess I just wasn't sure if you were talking to me."

"Well, who else would I be talking to?" she said with a furrowed brow.

"Not me…you're a Slytherin." And with that, he turned down the adjacent hallway leaving her to analyze the events that had just occurred.

"This Potter kid's gonna be a tricky one," she sighed aloud.

That evening in the common room, Esther was desperately trying to think of a way to get to Harry. Her initial plan hadn't worked, so she would have to come up with a new strategy. Harry Potter was the golden boy of the campus; she should have known that he would not be so easy to manipulate. She was just so used to having everybody wrapped around her finger, that Esther was surprised when she could not so easily entice him. However, she was still Esther Sinclair…there was no way she was going to lose this bet without a fight.

Ironically, just as she was pondering her entire situation, Draco Malfoy had strutted into the common room seeming very pleased with himself. This could only mean that he was having success with his end of the bargain, unlike her. Esther couldn't ignore that this scared her a little, but she wasn't going to seem fazed.

"Well, hello there Sinclair," Draco said coolly as he approached her with a wicked smile on his face.

"Good evening, Draco," she returned, confident as ever, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I just wanted to see if you had made any progress with Potter today."

"Please," she scoffed, "It's only a matter of time before his heart will be in my hands. I'm just laying the groundwork now. How goes things with the Weasley seduction?"

"I'm laying some groundwork of my own," Draco countered, "and I'm making more progress than expected. Does that scare you?"

Esther stood up and cocked her eyebrow at him before taking a few steps closer. She smirked.

"I'm not worried, Draco. I can already see myself riding that fancy broom of yours."

"Oh, no, no, no," he said slyly, "The only thing you're gonna be riding is me."

"We'll see about that." She turned to walk away from him, but Draco called after her.

"Bet or no bet, just give it time, Sinclair…you're gonna be mine _first_."

"Keep dreaming, Malfoy," she called back to him with a hidden smirk on her face.

"Will do," he said under his breath as he grinned devilishly and headed towards the boys' dormitories.

A few days later, Esther was even more determined to make some progress with Harry. She noticed that he was eyeing her a lot more in class now that she had made her presence known to him. At least, she could be happy in the knowledge that he thought she was a hottie. However, that wouldn't be enough to gain the heart of Harry Potter. She was pretty sure she thought of a way to get through to him, but she wasn't sure if it'd be entirely effective. After all, he had already brushed off her initial attempts so easily, there was a chance that things still wouldn't work out. However, Esther wasn't ready to give up. Not even close.

This time, instead of timing it so that they would exit the door way at the same time, Esther rushed out of class so that she would be ahead of him. She positioned herself on the wall beside their classroom and leaned against it, books still in hand. As soon as Harry left the room, she called out to get his attention.

"You say you didn't think I'd talk to you cause I'm a Slytherin?" she asked with a raised eye brow. He turned towards her with a look of surprise on his face and merely stared at her, without even offering a reply. She was pretty certain that he just didn't know what to say. She took this opportunity to continue on, "I thought someone like you would be above all that. I mean, a house is just a crest on your robes and a team to root for at Quidditch matches, right?" There was another pause as he just looked at her in utter shock, "Just thought I'd try to make a friend. Anyways, see you around Potter." She offered him one more subtle eye brow raise before taking off down the hallway, smiling as he watched her retreating figure in astonishment.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry it takes me forever to post! But, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I know it moves kinda slow, but it's necessary so that the story's believable. Anyways, please review(: it's motivation. Thanks so much for everything (reading, reviewing, etc.) btdubbb, am I the only one who thought Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 was amazing? (: hahah. **

A few days later, Draco was ready to start phase two of his seduction of Ginny Weasley. He traveled into the library at the exact same time he had during his first attempt to woo the red-head, and was lucky to find her at her usual table once again. This time, he headed over immediately without hesitation and took a seat across from her. He wore a smug smile on his face as she looked up at him with disgust.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she asked, sounding more curious than angry at this point.

"I saw you sitting here all by your lonesome again, and I thought maybe we could shoot the breeze," he returned casually with a shrug. She shot him a glare.

"You did not."

"Why're you questioning me?" Draco responded as he cocked an eye brow.

"Because there is no way on this earth that you would _ever _considering 'shooting the breeze' with me," she said matter-of-factly.

"Don't be so sure of that," he countered.

"What'd you mean?" Ginny narrowed her eyes.

"Well from what I've gathered, you're an intelligent girl…well, that is minus your decision to date Harry Potter…but that's a whole other story. Anyway, you're intelligent, beautiful…why _wouldn't_ I wanna talk to you?" he asked, his smirk only growing as he continued on and on in his speech. There were a few moments of silence where Ginny seemed to consider what he was saying, and then suddenly the same accusatory expression resurfaced on her face.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she demanded bluntly.

"No dear, we've just established that I _don't_ think you're stupid," he corrected, "Let's try to keep up now."

She shook her head at him as her eyes turned to slits on her face.

"Get out of here, Malfoy."

"Nope, sorry can't help you."

"Why?"  
"Because I don't want to go…and I typically get what I want," he explained cockily.

"What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?" Ginny asked with desperation.

"Now you're talking my language," Draco said, "Let's have a conversation…"

"About what?"

"Hmmm…I dunno…weather, school events? Or maybe we could talk about that nasty little split you had with our dear friend Mr. Potter?" Draco smirked as Ginny's expression turned to pure rage. Then, all of a sudden, she seemed to calm down. She was either ready to leave, or finally starting to crack. He truly hoped it was the latter.

"What do you wanna know about it?" she asked through pursed lips.

"I just want details, honestly," he answered, "What happened?"

"It just…wow, I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you…" Ginny trailed off.

"Come on, Weasley. It seems that I'm all you've got. Besides, like I've said, I can be impartial," Draco reasoned.

"Fine…well, it just wasn't working…I dunno…"

"Don't gimme that bullshit," Draco chuckled darkly, "Every break-up has a legitimate reason for occurring…now let's hear yours."

"Well, you know how Harry is, he's just expects so much out of everyone because he expects so much out of himself, so it makes it hard to live up to expectation, you know?"

"Yeah, he's a prick," Draco said plainly, "What's that got to do with him dumping you?"

"He just didn't like how I would flirt with other guys and it was just like he expected me to be perfect all the time, and so he finally got fed up and just ended it instead of trying to work through the problems," Ginny explained, her voice void of emotion. It was obvious she was still far from over the break-up. This was perfect for Draco. Her vulnerability was the key.

"I see," he said as he pretended to ponder her predicament.

"See? You don't even care, so why're we having this conversation?" Ginny demanded angrily.

"Actually, what I was just about to say was…he's a git and you're better off without him," Draco told her, "You don't need that. If he can't handle that you're a valued commodity at Hogwarts, than he doesn't deserve you."

"Well no, I could see how the flirting was annoying—"

"No, no Weasley, don't doubt yourself. Harmless flirting…even harmless screwing is no big deal when you're in a relationship," he smirked, "Trust me, I know."

"Yeah, because you're a cheater and a bastard," Ginny shot back, "Ugh, I don't know why I even talked to you about this. You don't understand…" She stood up to leave, but Draco had a tactic to stop her from bolting.

"Weasley, come on," he interrupted her rapid collection of books, "I've been there, haven't we all? I've recently gone through a break-up myself—"

"Please," Ginny scoffed, "You didn't even like the pug-faced bitch you were dating. You just used her for sex anyways."

"Why would I use her for something I can get anytime, anywhere?" Draco countered as he raised his eye brow. Ginny sighed, knowing that he had a point.

"Okay, true," she agreed, "Well then Malfoy, why did you date Pansy if not for that reason?"

Draco shrugged, "I dunno…seemed like a good idea in theory, but not such a good one in execution."

"I know whatcha mean," Ginny said as she sunk back down into her seat, "Me and Harry seemed like such a perfect couple, but when it came down to it we couldn't get it to work."

"Eh, you don't know that. I betcha anything you'll be popping out his kids in a few years from now."

Ginny rolled her eyes but smiled nevertheless.

"Anyways Weasley, you need to explore your options while you're single," Draco advised deviously, "You never know who could have their eye on you." He allowed his eyes to linger down to her chest before they traveled back up to her face. She noticed this action and merely stared at him as he raised his eye brows at her. "Think about it." With that final line put into place, Draco retreated from his place at the table and headed out of the library with his hands in his pockets. Phase two: complete.

"Hey Esther, can I talk to you for a second?"

Esther was stunned when she heard Harry Potter call after her as they exited out of class that afternoon. It had been a few days since she had laid her grand speech on him, and she was surprised that he was suddenly approaching her out of the blue. Well, she had noticed him staring at her in class, but she figured it was more of a lust thing than anything else. However, she was grateful for this turn of events. It saved her the trouble of having to approach him for the third time in a row.

"You know my name?" she asked as she cocked an eye brow, "Well how about that." Harry turned a light shade of pink and smiled awkwardly.

"Is that so strange? I mean, you knew my name, after all," he said.

"Yeah, but you're Harry Potter. Everybody knows who you are," she returned smoothly. She figured that would win her some points, at least. He was a guy, and guys loved to have their egos stroked.

"Well anyways…" he trailed off, "Er—I just wanted to apologize for being rude to you before. You don't typically meet many Slytherins who like to make nice with Gryffindors."

"Don't worry about it," Esther said with a shrug, "I'm a big girl, I got over it." Harry merely smiled, uncertain of how to respond. She had to keep him hooked though, so she pressed on. "So, how is it that the famous Harry Potter knows who I am?" He laughed softly.

"Well, uh…I've heard things," he explained with an amused yet uncomfortable expression on his face.

"Ooh, rumors…I love it. Care to clue me in?"

"Er—" he stopped himself, seeming more uneasy at this point. "Well, uh…just that you're…"

"A slut? A tease? Don't worry about hurting my feelings, I've heard 'em all," Esther assured him, amused at the labels she had acquired over the years.

"It doesn't really matter," Harry said with a shrug. He seemed to feel bad.

"Exactly," she agreed, "because talk is really just a bunch of noise. "

"Well put."

At this point, the two had already reached the end of the hallway and it was apparent that they were both heading in separate directions. Esther knew she had made some progress, but not enough. She had to find a way to keep this kid wanting more.

"So Golden boy, would you be willing to walk me to my next class? It's not too far, I promise." She shot him a cunning yet soft smile. She hoped he was like all the other boys at the school and was unable to resist it.

"I have to meet a friend," Harry said apologetically, "Maybe another time."

Esther was beyond pissed, and shocked that he was still somewhat resistant to her charms. However, she wouldn't let this show in her face. She'd have to play it cool.

"No worries, Harry. I get it," she said as she folded her lips, "See you around."

She backed up slowly, a sexy smirk covering her face as she kept her eyes fixed upon his. With that, she turned back around and headed down the hallway. Things were getting better, but she had to put in more effort if she wanted to get him to crack. This was proving to be a lot harder than she originally expected.

As Esther continued to ponder her predicament, she felt the presence of another beside her in the hallway. She turned and hoped for a moment that it was Harry reconsidering her proposal, but instead it was none other than her adversary in her current bet, Draco Malfoy. He wore a smirk on his face as he sauntered next to her with his hands in his pockets. Obviously, he had just made some head-way with Weasley. She rolled her eyes, not in the mood to hear about how great his end of the bargain was going.

"Hello Sinclair."

"Draco," she returned coldly, "What can I help you with?"

"Oh, nothing," he said smoothly, "Just curious to hear if you've made any progress with Potter these days…"

"If you must know, I have," she told him as a cool smile graced her lips.

"Hmm, well how about that. Well done. I've also had some luck with the Weasley whore as of late."

"Good to hear it," Esther complimented with confidence.

"Thought you would be," he returned, "You better hurry Sinclair, I pretty much have this one in the bag."

"Don't be so sure of that, Malfoy," Esther countered, "Did you not just see me walking with one Harry Potter just a few moments ago?"

"Yeah, but I also noticed he bolted five seconds later."

"Not the point."

"I guess you charms don't work on everyone, do they Sinclair?" Draco questioned with a devious smirk. Esther shot him a dirty look, but then also began to smirk. She cocked an eyebrow before grabbing him by the front of the robes and dragging him into the adjacent hallway. After pushing him up against the wall roughly, she pressed her lips against his till they went numb. Draco was beyond surprised. He didn't even really have a chance to react. After a few moments of being in the position, Esther released him and began to back away.

"Yeah, but they work on you," she commented sexily, "That's just a preview of what you'll get if you win."

With that, she disappeared down the hallway. As always, she had left Draco amazed. He regained his breath and straightened up his robes before descending down the hall himself.

"That's the girl for me," he said out loud as he exhaled deeply and ran his hands through his hair.

The following day, Esther had chosen to take a day off from working towards winning the bet. She was making minimal progress anyway, so she figured she'd need a day or two to regroup. She decided to head to the library to get some studying done, that way she'd have less work to do during the week. As soon as she reached her destination, Esther planted her belongings down on a table that was secluded from the rest and headed towards the book shelves. She was absentmindedly sorting through volumes for quite a while and for some reason she was lost in deep thought. However, she made herself snap out of it and turned to exit the aisle with a book in hand when suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her, for she was shocked when she saw Harry Potter in the aisle across from her. Of course he was probably there for a book, but instead she caught him staring at her before he blushed and awkwardly turned away. She smirked. It was almost as if fate was trying to give her a chance to win this bet. There was no doubt she was going to take the opportunity.

"Harry Potter…" she called out loud enough for him to hear her. His head snapped back towards her and he looked both surprised and embarrassed. "…lucky me," she added on. He smiled softly.

"Hi Esther," he replied quietly, "What're you doing here?" Following this, he shut his eyes as if to non-verbally call himself and idiot for asking such an obvious question. She laughed and walked towards him.

"You know, just getting some studying out of the way. It's the same for you I suppose?"

"Er…yeah," he said.

Esther merely offered him a smile. She wasn't quite sure what to say. Maybe this wasn't a second chance from fate, and Draco was right…her charms didn't work on Harry as easily as they worked on everyone else. Luckily for Esther, Harry continued their interaction.

"So…uh…would you might want to share a table? I've looked around, and most of the others are full."

Esther lit up at this prospect. Her idea to go to the library that day was looking better and better by the minute.

"That'd be lovely," she told him. Though, she smirked when she noticed something in the background. Something that would definitely start a conversation that could work to her advantage, "Well, there _is _a table over there that's unoccupied." She gestured behind him.

Harry turned to see a vacant table that was a few feet back from where they were standing. However, this table happened to be adjacent to the one his ex-girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, was occupying. They made eye contact, and Esther was sure that he noticed that her eyes were watery. She was feeling like such a genius at this particular moment.

"Er…I don't think that's the best idea," he commented solemnly after a few moments of silence.

"Why?" Esther asked, feigning ignorance.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time," she replied with a grin. Harry offered her a smile in return before they headed over to the table Esther had secured for them. She was definitely feeling good about this.

Harry and Esther spent the remainder of the afternoon together. Most of the time, they just sat quietly with one another while they worked. However, some of the time was spent talking, flirting and catching each other's eye as they pretended to be reading. Yes, Esther was quite certain that she was the frontrunner in this bet judging from how well her afternoon went. Harry even offered to walk her downstairs after they were done in the library.

"So, you never did get to that story…" Esther pointed out as they treaded through the halls.

"Story?" Harry furrowed his brow.

"You know, the long one…it had something to do with why you wouldn't sit at that empty table," Esther laughed.

"Oh…that…" Harry trailed off. Esther folded her lips and allowed her eyes flicker over to him. The pain in his face was actually visible, which surprisingly made her feel a little guilty. That was something she definitely wasn't used to.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she said.

"No, it's okay," he replied as he shook his head, "I just didn't want to use that table because my old girlfriend was sitting over there…and…er, it just would've been too weird."

"Ahh, I see," Esther said, "Bad break-up?"

"Well..I guess you could say that."

"I'm sorry, Harry," she told him, the sympathy in her voice legitimate. She wondered why she actually felt bad, normally she would find amusement in the situation.

"Don't be," he answered, "It was for the best."

"Judging by her face when she saw you, I don't think she'd agree…" Esther commented.

"Yeah, well what's done is done."

There was a bit of awkward silence between them, and Esther feared that she had blown all the progress she had made in the last few hours. She had to find a way to fix the bad mood she had gotten Harry into.

"Well, on the plus side…I actually got to talk to you for longer than five minutes."

Harry laughed softly and offered her a smile.

"Is that what you were aiming for?"

"Yes," Esther returned bluntly, "I find you fascinating." She cocked an eyebrow as he turned to give her a look.

"Why? Because of my reputation, I suppose…"

"No," she corrected, "because I can't quite figure you out. And trust me, I can figure out pretty much anyone."

Harry chuckled and gazed into her eyes warmly. It seemed as though she was finally starting to crack his armor.

"You know, you're a lot different than I thought you'd be," he told her.

"Oh? How so?"

He seemed to get a little uncomfortable at this point, but pressed on anyway.

"Well…er…I was just under the impression that you were…"

"A dumb whore who only talks to guys to mess with their heads? Manipulative? Slutty? Like I said Harry, it's nothing I haven't heard before."

"Yeah…" he trailed off awkwardly, "but it seems…wrong…"

"Most people's opinions of me are," Esther said with a shrug. "Well, I suppose I'll head back to my dormitory."

Harry shook his head, but seemed a little disappointed at the thought of her absence.

"I want to spend more time with you, Harry," she told him, "I hope that's okay." He merely gave her a small smile and shook his head. She grinned in return and gave him a nod before heading down the hallway. Esther was quite certain that this was going to be a breeze from this point on.

"Get ready to lose, Malfoy," she said out loud to herself as she smirked and turned down another corridor.

Draco was surprised when Ginny Weasley approached him in the courtyard with a tear stained face and red cheeks. The two exchanged a look, and it was almost as though they were communicating telepathically. He slyly shut his book and smirked before patting the space on the bench beside him for her to sit down. Ginny did as she was commanded and tucked her hair behind her ears as more tears fell down her cheeks. There was a small span of silence between them and Draco was about to speak, but Ginny did so before he had a chance.

"I saw him with another girl," she said. Draco smirked at hearing this.

"Was she tan, scrawny and brunette?" he asked with curiosity.

"Yes…and bloody beautiful," Ginny sighed, "Wait…how did you know that…?"

Draco's smirk grew as he seductively placed his arm around Ginny, "Let's have a conversation…"


	4. Chapter 4

"Why should I believe any of what you tell me?" Ginny demanded through squinted eyes as she stared down Draco, who simply wore a smile on his pale, pointed face.

"Come on Weasley, what incentive do I have to lie to you?" he retorted, raising his eyebrows.

"I dunno, you're Draco Malfoy…you don't need incentive to lie," she shot back. Draco shrugged and merely continued to smirk at her. She rolled her eyes.

"So you're saying that the brunette slut –"

"Esther," Draco filled in for her.

"Okay fine, you're saying that _Esther_ is Harry's attempt to make me jealous?"

"Why else would he choose to spend his time with some random Slytherin girl he barely knows?" Draco asked pointedly.

"True…" Ginny admitted as she continued to ponder the situation, "So…what do I do?"

Draco sighed and slapped his hand against his face in annoyance. It looked like he was going to have to explain it slowly to the girl.

"Do I have to draw you a bloody diagram?" he snapped, "Here's the deal ginger, Potter's trying to make you jealous. Therefore, in retaliation, you also have to make _him _jealous. You see where I'm going with this?"

"Well, how am I supposed to make him jealous?" she inquired, "It's not like I'm ready to start dating again…and besides I'm not a user. Who am I gonna find that would be willing to let me fake date them to piss him off?"

Draco lifted one eyebrow and smirked while shooting her a look. Suddenly, her jaw dropped in realization and she smiled.

"You'd do that for me?"

"No…I'd do that so I can see the look on Potter's face when he sees us together," Draco corrected smugly.

"Works for me," Ginny said with a shrug. Draco smiled deviously.

The next few days were days of planning. Draco and Ginny had come up with a perfect scheme to bring the golden boy to his knees. Beyond that, Draco was quite certain that it would only be a matter of a week or two before he would get Ginny in bed, meaning Esther would be all his. Yes, he had everything lined up flawlessly. Nothing could go wrong. Meanwhile, Esther and Harry continued to spend more time together. Whether it be walking together after class, or sharing a table in the library. Esther could tell that Harry was finally starting to fall for some of her charms, but she wasn't all the way there yet. However, the more time she spent with him, the easier it became for her to forget about the bet. She found that she actually, legitimately enjoyed spending time with him. It was a scary thought to her, and one that she often put to the side.

One day after class, she and Harry were walking in the hallway together, joking and laughing as they always did. It was a good talk, and they found themselves wandering around the castle rather than traveling to their next destinations. Esther was having a moment of panic as she realized how happy she felt when she was with this kid. She tried really hard to put out of her mind, but it just wasn't working this time. This was made even worse when she saw the warmth in Harry's eyes as he looked at her. Damn. This was definitely not a part of the plan. However, Esther's fearful musings were completely pushed to the wayside as Harry suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Esther furrowed her brow and turned back to face him, and noticed that he was as still as a statue and his expression just looked simply…hurt. She whipped back around to face forward before her jaw dropped in realization.

Ginny and Draco were pressed against the wall a little ways down from them, trapped in an intense make-out session. Of course, Esther knew this was all a part of Draco's scheme to win the bet, but Harry didn't. Then she turned to look at the dark haired boy's face once again and her heart broke. He just looked so…destroyed. It was hard for her to watch. Obviously, a part of him would always care for Ginny, and seeing her in the arms of his sworn enemy was definitely far from easy. Esther folded her lips solemnly before walking back towards Harry and grabbing his hand.

"Let's go, okay?"

Harry merely nodded, and the two headed down the hallway and out of sight of the PDA nightmare behind them. Once they were safely in another corridor, he pulled his hand out of Esther's and stayed completely silent.

"Hey, do you need—"

"I'm gonna go to my dormitory," Harry told her quietly, "See ya later."

With that, he was gone, leaving her upset and confused behind him.

"Oh my gosh, did you see Harry's face?" Ginny laughed excitedly as she and Draco headed down to the courtyard to talk about their success, "I thought he was gonna start crying right there on the spot!"

"Yes, well done Weasley," Draco complimented, "I didn't think you had it in you."

"Neither did I," she admitted, "I feel so great, you have no idea."

"Oh, I have some idea," he told her as he chuckled darkly, "Making Potter's life miserable is a great pleasure of mine, in case you've forgotten."

"True," Ginny conceded with a shrug, "This was such a great idea…I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks Malfoy. I couldn't have done it without you."

"My pleasure." He offered her a smirk.

"Well, I'm off to the common room to deal with the aftermath of the damage we've done," Ginny announced as she turned to head in the opposite direction.

"Enjoy," Draco replied, "And find me later to give details."

"Will do," Ginny assured him as she skipped off to the Gryffindor common room.

Once she reached her destination, she wasn't surprised to see Harry sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. His elbows were resting on his knees and he was leaning forward, staring into the fire. He was obviously deep in thought, so Ginny was surprised that he turned to look at her as she walked past the couch. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. She was actually starting to feel a bit of guilt about what she had done and wondered if she should say something to him about it. However, he didn't give her a chance to start a conversation, for he rose from the couch and turned to face her.

"Don't even look at me," he hissed as he pushed past her and headed for the stairs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny demanded.

"It means, stay the hell away from me," Harry verified coldly. Ginny stayed silent for a moment as he started up the stairs, but then yelled after him once the rage had built up inside her.

"How dare you! How dare you act like the hurt one, Harry, after everything you've done."

He spun around to face her, the expression on his face one of anger.

"Everything I've done? I wasn't the one snogging my sworn enemy right in front of your face."

"How about you running around with that skinny, Slytherin whore like it's nothing?" Ginny shot back.

"Esther's my friend," Harry returned, "And last time I checked, she didn't spend half of her school career trying to make you miserable."

"That's not even the point, Harry," she yelled as half the population of the common room turned to watch their fight, "You have no room to be angry at me, because newsflash: _you _broke up with _me_! You were the one who moved onto some random slut _first_! So any further commentary you have to make about my love life, you can keep to yourself. Got it?"

"Fine," Harry snapped, "That's just fine, Ginny. And you can just keep away from me…for good!"

"Fine!"

"Fine."

With that, Harry whipped back around and marched up the stairs, unable to deal with any further conflict. Meanwhile, Ginny was frozen behind him. Her body had seized up in rage, but tears fell freely down her face. This was not quite what she expected to happen.

"You son of a bitch," Esther snarled once she had marched up to Draco, who was sprawled out on one of the couches in the Slytherin common room. He was reading a newspaper, and looking very pleased with himself as he placed it in his lap to look at her.

"Nice to see you too, Sinclair," he returned smugly.

"Don't try to be cute, Malfoy," she snapped, "You're a disgusting prick, and you know it."

She spun around to walk away, but he jumped up from his position on the couch and grabbed her arm so that she couldn't leave. He pulled her so that their fronts were touching. He smirked as she merely offered him a look of disgust.

"Now tell me what you really think about me."

"Get off of me," Esther growled. She pushed against his chest to break free, but he just pulled her closer.

"Oh come on, Sinclair…what's got your knickers in a twist? Well, besides me…"

"Don't flatter yourself." She gave him on final shove and was able to release herself from his clutches.

"Why're you so mad?" he asked with legitimate interest.

"You know why," she shot back.

"Oh, because of that thing with Potter and Weasley? That was bloody brilliant and you know it," Draco said amusedly.

"It was cruel," Esther told him, "You're supposed to bed her, not make Harry miserable."

"Oh, so I see you two are on a first name basis now," he teased, "How cute."

"Shut up, Malfoy. You don't know anything about it," she said, "And from now on, do me a favor and leave him alone."

Draco laughed darkly and gave her a look, then suddenly paused as he was hit with a realization.

"Wait a minute…"

Esther tensed up. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear.

"…You like him," Draco said as the smirk on his face grew.

"No…"

"Bloody hell, you like him!" He proceeded to break into a fit of laughter as Esther just stood there and rolled her eyes.

"Merlin, that's rich, he continued on.

"Shove it, Draco," Esther said irritably, "Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that I just don't wanna sleep with you?" She raised an eyebrow as her lip quivered in satisfaction at her own retort.

He gave her a disbelieving look as he grabbed her by the waist and lowered himself into her straight, brown hair. He let himself linger there for a bit as he took in the scent of her beautiful locks, before bringing himself to her jaw line and biting down on her skin roughly. He heard her breath hitch, and smiled before pushing her away from him.

"I think we can safely rule that out, my dear," he taunted. She narrowed her eyes at him, but smirked nonetheless.

"Regardless, leave Potter alone," she pressed on, "He didn't deserve that."

"Nor does he deserve to be lead on and have his heart broken," Draco returned, "but you have no problems doing that, now do you?"

"That's different…"

"Why? Because you actually like him," Draco stated as if it were a fact rather than just a theory.

"Shut up, Malfoy. You've been enough of a bastard today as it is."

Esther gave him one last eyebrow raise before heading towards the girls' dormitories, as always leaving Draco to stare after her retreating frame.

"Get some rest, Sinclair," he called after her, "You're gonna need it for later when you lose the bet…trust me." He smirked.

The following day, Esther was surprised when Harry approached her after class. He was so upset and distant previously, that she didn't think that he'd be willing to talk to her again so soon.

"Hey Esther, I'm sorry about yesterday," he told her quietly, "I just—"

"No need to explain, Harry," Esther assured him, "If I were in your position, I have no idea how I'd act either."

"Thanks for understanding," he said with a smile. For a moment, the two were merely gazing into each other's eyes and smiling, but Harry suddenly shook his head as if to snap himself out of it and continued talking. "Anyway…er…would you wanna go take a walk or something?"

"I'm glad you asked," Esther replied, "Let's go." She grabbed his hand and grinned, surprised that this time he didn't pull it away.

After spending quite a bit of time wandering aimlessly on the grounds of Hogwarts, Harry and Esther decided it was about time to be heading back to the castle. Besides, they could see that storm clouds were gathering above them and they didn't want to be caught in the rain. However, they weren't lucky enough to miss the storm. They were drenched by the time they re-entered the school, but they didn't let this stop them from having fun.

"Look at you, you're soaked," Esther laughed, "Can you even see out of your glasses?"

"Barely," Harry replied with a smile. He took them off and wiped them on his sweater, but found that it wasn't too much of a help. Esther simply laughed harder at this.

"Sorry, we should've come inside sooner," she commented.

"Don't be sorry," he returned, "It was fun."

"Yeah…" she trailed off, "Kind of weird though, right?"

"How so?" Harry inquired with a puzzled expression.

"I don't know…A Gryffindor spending this much time with a Slytherin. It's weird."

"Almost as weird as a Gryffindor falling for a Slytherin?" Esther paused suddenly and snapped her head up to look at him. He looked a bit embarrassed at his last comment, and his cheeks had turned a light shade of red.

"That's not so weird," she told him softly. He just stood there, and silence fell over them. But after a moment, Esther stepped forward and kissed him gently on the lips. It was only for a second, but he seemed to be satisfied with it. He smiled, as did she.

"Bye, Harry." Esther backed away slowly as she always did, and he just gazed at her for a while before awkwardly turning to head to the Gryffindor tower.

Esther was feeling quite content as she traveled to the Slytherin common room. Yes, she was happy that she was so close to winning the bet, but more than that, she was happy that Harry liked her. She supposed she couldn't deny it anymore, Draco was right. She liked Harry, even though that idea was still odd to her. But it didn't matter, she couldn't back out of the bet. Draco would win by default if she did. No, she would have to put her feeling aside in order for her to be able to win. However, all of this flew out of her mind as she turned into the next corridor.

The sight of a disheveled Ginny Weasley greeted Esther as she continued down the hallway. She merely furrowed her brow as the red-head passed by her, but didn't escape without receiving a dirty look. The brunette merely shook her head and kept walking, until she saw something that made her stomach drop. A little ways down the hall, Draco Malfoy was exiting an empty classroom. His hair was slightly out of place, his clothes were a mess and he was holding his tie in his hand. Esther put two and two together and swallowed a lump in her throat as she was hit with realization. Draco smirked when he saw her, and approached her immediately. Smugness was dripping off of him.

"Game over," he said, walking by and leaving Esther stunned behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: ****Hey, I just wanted to thank everybody for all the support and reviews! (: It means a lot, trust me. Anyways, just a few things I wanted to explain before you read the next chapter: 1)The first section is kinda what happened at the end of the previous chapter except from Draco's POV. So, you'll kinda get to see his victory in the bet from his perspective. Also, there's some dirty ish stuff in this chapter...but I suck at writing that kinda shit so just lower your expectations for that section of it, hahah. And, I finally put dividers in the chapters/text so you can tell when there is a lapse in time and perspective and what not! Sorry for my laziness in previous chapters, hahah (: Btw, some music that reminded me of the chapter that you could perhaps listen to while reading it is "Government Hooker" by Lady Gaga (which I listened to pretty much on repeat while I wrote the chapter) and "Sour Cherry" by The Kills (also put on repeat). Both are great songs that will merely enhance you're reading experience (: hahah. Anyways! I really hope you enjoy this chapter a lot, as much as I enjoyed writing. Thanks again for all the support and reviews, you guys are very inspiring for me! Please review, I love and appreciate your feedback so much (: thanks! **

Draco started his day like any other. He woke up, got into his robes, headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast and went to classes as usual. He had gotten so used to his routine that the day seemed even more uneventful than the others, especially since he didn't have any new schemes to nail Ginny. Yes, he was quite certain that he would sleep through his final class of the day, head back to the Slytherin dorms, pass out on his four poster till dinner, and then return to the common room, neglect his homework and harass Esther for a bit if he was in the mood. However, despite the dull outlook Draco had on the remainder of his day, it was actually quite eventful. Nothing turned out like he expected it to, and this was definitely a positive thing.

After he had gotten through his final class of the day, Draco took his time strolling through the corridors as he headed back to the common room. He had a lot on his mind, surprisingly. It was nothing super meaningful, of course. He merely wondered how much longer it would be before he could win this stupid bet. He loved taunting Esther, but he just wanted to get to plow her already. The fact that there was this much of a build up to it was starting to bore him. He just had to think of the next step of his plan. How could he take his seduction of Ginny Weasley to the next level? Fortunately for him, he wouldn't have to make any more of an effort.

All of a sudden, Draco found himself face to face with the red head, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. He figured it had something to do with Harry. What else would have her so hysterical?

"What's got you all bothered, Weasley?" Draco asked.

"I just—I dunno, I think yesterday was a mistake…"

"Oh come on, you can't live with regrets. It's a waste of bloody time," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I just—I just—"

She was inconsolable, that was for sure. Draco sighed in annoyance and grabbed her by the arm to drag her into the nearest, empty classroom. He wasn't going to let her blubber in the middle of the hallway and look like even more of a mess than she already did.

"Try to calm down, ginger," Draco told her impatiently. He led her to sit down on a nearby table, and then took a seat beside her. "Now, what seems to be the trouble?"

"He never wants to talk to me ever again, Draco," Ginny wailed, "He was so angry after he saw us together…he told me to never bother him again."

"And?"

"What the hell do you mean 'and?'" Ginny snapped.

"Listen, you made a choice and you have to stand by it. So what if Potter shit himself when he saw us together? He's just gonna have to deal. He had no problems flaunting Esther in front of your face, am I right?"

"That's true," Ginny admitted with a shrug as her crying subsided a little.

"Besides, he'd have to be a bloody idiot to have let a catch like you go in the first place," Draco continued on. At this point, he knew that he had a perfect window of opportunity to try to do the impossible. He took Ginny by the chin and turned her head so that she was looking into his eyes. She seemed surprised by this action, but she didn't question it. "Come on Weasley, you're strong…beautiful…the whole package. He's a prick, don't let him ruin you. You're better than that."

Ginny smiled softly as one more tear fell down her cheek. She took the hand Draco had placed under her chin, and put it down on her knee. Draco's eyes flashed down, then back up as he offered her a look and raised one eyebrow.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"I'm only telling the truth—"

"No, really…" she trailed off for a moment, "…thank you."

Ginny moved his hand further up her leg so that it rested at the hem of her skirt. She gave him a look and he just stared back at her in shock. She ignored his expression and leaned forward, pressing her lips against his softly and allowing her hand to rest on the back of his neck.

"What're you doing?" he asked, the tone of his voice sounding somewhat confused but also seductive.

"Living without regrets," Ginny told him before crashing her mouth onto his once more and starting to remove the top layer of his robes.

Draco continued to kiss the red head roughly, though he couldn't help but smirk as he did. Mission accomplished.

* * *

The fact that Draco just happened to run into Esther right after he had just had sex with Ginny pretty much made his great day even greater. Judging by the look on her face, he was quite certain that she had put two and two together and figured out that she had just lost the entire bet. "Game over" was about all he could utter as he passed by her. He was far too elated to even have a dialogue with her at that point. He'd save that for later.

Dinner felt like an eternity, especially since Draco had planned to confront Esther about the bet directly afterwards. He kept shooting her smirks during the meal, and she merely raised her eyebrow at him in return. Once they had exited the Great Hall and returned to the Slytherin common room, Draco actually waited a little bit before he talked to Esther. He wanted to savor it, as well as make her sweat a little. He actually couldn't quite tell what she was thinking. When she first learned that she had lost the bet, she looked upset. However, at dinner she seemed somewhat pleased. It didn't really matter, anyhow. The girl was his for a night, no ifs, ands or buts.

Finally, the boy decided to approach Esther, ready to see how this particular verbal sparring match would pan out. She was sitting in an arm chair by the fireplace, a book in hand and a serious look on her face as she scanned through the pages. Though, as Draco approached her, she broke her concentration and looked up at him. Suddenly, a smirk covered her face to match the one he wore on his and the two locked eyes. Esther put her book down as he stood in the space in front of her, his hands in his pockets as he raised an eyebrow.

"So…enjoying your book there, Sinclair?" he asked slyly.

"Probably more than I'm going to enjoy this conversation," she shot back.

"Ooh, is somebody bitter that they lost the bet?" Draco taunted.

"I'm not bitter," she returned amusedly, "Just disappointed that I actually have to give myself to you…finally."

"I never had any doubt that it would happen," he said smugly.

"Well," Esther chuckled darkly, "I suppose a deal's a deal."

"Right you are."

There was a bit of silence where the two just eyed each other down, both still wearing smirks on their faces. Draco decided to break the staring match.

"So, I suppose we should figure out how this whole arrangement's going to work," he pointed out.

"Time and place, baby," Esther said as she arched her eyebrow and rose from the chair. She stood on her toes to whisper into his ear, "Time and place." She offered him a seductive smile before sauntering past him. He licked his lips excitedly before turning around to call after her.

"Tomorrow night…during dinner. We'll meet here?"

She spun back around to face him and nodded.

"It's a date." And with that, she was gone.

* * *

The following day, Draco could hardly contain himself. It seemed like the hours were just dragging by. He just wanted to fast forward to that evening so he could just bed Esther already. However, an encounter from Ginny in the middle of his day definitely added interest to an otherwise dull afternoon. Not to mention, it helped pass the time until he would meet with Esther.

"Draco…can I talk to you?" the red head asked. She had approached him outside the Great Hall, and looked quite serious. He sincerely hoped she didn't want to have a round two. Once was definitely enough for him.

"Alright," he agreed, "What's on your mind, Weasley?"

"Well…uh…" she trailed off for a moment, "Do you mind if we talk in private?"

Great. Draco had a feeling this was going to be an awkward conversation. It always was when he had to face an ex-conquest. He followed her to one of the empty corridors so they would be secluded, hoping that she would hurry up and talk so that he could enjoy his lunch and get on with the rest of his bloody day.

"Well, get on with it," Draco said irritably.

Ginny bit her lip and looked up at him as he sighed impatiently. Boredom was already setting in for him.

"Look…Draco…I was just wondering if you'd be willing to forget about what happened yesterday…"

He smirked in relief. Perhaps this wouldn't be so awkward after all.

"I was just really sad…about Harry…and to be honest, you were just…there," she continued on, "Not that you weren't good, it's just—"

"Consider it forgotten, Weasley," he assured her smugly, "You're not exactly the first girl I've spontaneously banged. I think it's safe to say it didn't mean anything to either of us."

"Exactly," Ginny said with a smile, "Good, I'm glad you understand."

"Of course."

Ginny gave him one final nod, and then turned to take her leave. However, she spun around one final time to call back to him.

"You know, Malfoy, you're not as much of a bastard as I thought you were."

"No, I am," he told her pompously, "…trust me." He smirked as she just shook her head and took off down the hallway. Draco sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. Now that his mid-afternoon entertainment was over, he could refocus on his anticipation for the evening's activities.

* * *

By the time everyone was filing out of the common room to have dinner, Draco was already waiting there on one of the leather couches, eager for Esther's arrival. Luckily, he didn't have to wait too long for her to show up. After a few moments, she appeared before him looking as stunning as ever. She had chosen to wear her usually straight hair in loose curls that day, which framed her angular face perfectly. Her cheeks were especially rosy, and her lips looked even fuller and more appealing to him than normal. She offered him a sexy smirk as she stood before him in front of the couch.

"Evening, Draco."

"Sinclair," he returned simply. He had a feeling it wasn't going to take much to arouse him; her presence seemed to be enough at the moment.

"So, are you going to take me right here or are we actually going to be civilized and go to your dorm?" she inquired with an eyebrow raise.

"I'm fine with both," he said smoothly. She laughed before grabbing him by his sweater and forcing him to his feet.

"Let's go."

Esther dragged him the entire way to the boys' dormitories by his sweater, which he was completely fine with. Once they reached the door, she pushed him up against it and kissed him roughly while allowing her hands to travel down his front and to his belt buckle. He pulled away for a moment and smirked at her, but she responded by shoving him in the chest and going to kiss his neck.

"You know, keep the violence up," he told her arrogantly, "I find it very attractive." She pulled away from him and gave him a look, which only caused his smirk to grow.

"You talk way too much," she informed him as she twisted the door knob and pushed him into the room. He shrugged.

"You don't seem to have any problems keeping up with my requests."

Esther shook her head as she grabbed him by the front of the robes and forced him against his dresser. She pressed her lips against his powerfully before stripping off his robes and removing her own.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he laughed as he pulled away from her for a moment, "Don't do all the work yourself. If you're going to take anything else off…please…let me help you…" She smiled darkly before ripping off his sweater and biting down against his jaw line. He smirked as he slid her sweater off of her thin frame and started to unbutton her shirt. She removed her lips from him, and went to take off his shirt as well. He stopped her mid-action and roughly grabbed her by the hair before forcing his mouth over hers. At this point, he wanted to take control. Draco grabbed her by the waist and spun her around so that she was pushed up against the dresser, knocking several objects off of it as he did so.

"Remember, I'm a poor virgin, Draco…" she taunted, "Be gentle." He grinned devilishly and gripped her even tighter before turning around and pushing her down onto his bed.

"Like hell," he scoffed before crashing down on top of her.

* * *

"You okay?" Draco asked as he lay back in his four poster. Esther was at the end of his bed putting her shoes on and wrapping her tie around her neck, seeming very casual about everything considering what had just happened.

"Yes," she laughed, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because we've just satisfied five years of sexual tension in thirty minutes," he offered smugly. She shot him a look and smirked.

"That's true…personally, I thought you'd have more stamina," she mocked. He raised his eyebrow at her, obviously impressed by her jeer at his expense.

"Please, you loved every bloody minute of it."

Esther merely smiled and offered him a shrug. Following that, she stood up, put on the top layer of her robes and trekked to the door.

"Well, as much fun as this has been, I think I'll be heading back to my dormitory," she told him, "See you tomorrow?"

"Count on it," Draco said with confidence as he smirked and placed his hands behind his head.

With that, Esther offered him one final eyebrow raise before disappearing from the room. Draco couldn't deny that he was feeling extremely satisfied with himself at this point. Hooking up with Esther had proved to be everything he was expecting, and maybe even more. Yes, this bet had definitely proved to be a good idea. Two hook-ups with two different girls in a two-day time span, not to mention that he had, had his eye on Esther for years…with that in mind, life seemed pretty good. He rose from his bed, re-dressed himself and decided to head down to the Great Hall. By the time he would arrive there, he would probably be just in time for desert. Draco smirked as he headed towards the common room, a bit stunned by how great his luck had been lately.

However, once he entered the corridors, he was feeling something completely different. As he turned a corner, he was surprised when he saw Esther sitting on the floor just a ways down from him. She was pressed up against the wall with her knees to her chest, tears streaming down her face. She was…crying? Why would she be crying? How could she go from fine to crying in a ten minute time span? All these questions flooded Draco's mind as he did a U-turn to head back to the common room. However, the most important one was: Why did he care?

* * *

The next day, Esther was feeling pretty crummy about herself, but obviously she didn't let it show. She was acting just as careless and confident as ever, even more so in fact. That's how she had forced herself to act when it came to settling the bet with Draco. That's how she had to act to make it seem like everything was fine. The truth was, she cared about losing her virginity. It was actually more important to her than she led on, but of course she wouldn't ever let anyone know that. Showing that side of herself would definitely not convey strength. Besides, she figured she'd lose it to some random tool eventually, anyways…better that it was the man whore of the Slytherin house than some unexpected…someone that she actually liked…someone like Harry Potter.

Esther hated herself for actually falling for Harry, especially when she was quite certain that he had only admitted to liking her because he was rebounding from the Ginny situation. That just made it all so much worse. But, after she broke down and cried after having sex with Draco, Esther decided that she wasn't going to feel sorry for herself anymore. It was done, so she might as well forget the past and just focus on the future. Though, part of her hoped that Harry would still be in her future. He knew nothing about the bet, so technically she could still pursue him. The only problem was that Draco would then know he was right about her having feelings for him…not to mention that she didn't even know if Harry's feelings for her were legit. She supposed she'd have to confront him about it sooner rather than later.

"Harry…could we talk for a second?" Esther asked him after class as all of the students were filing into the hall. He offered her a small smile and nodded. Following that, the two aimlessly walked through the hallways as they usually did so that Esther could say her piece.

"Look…what happened the other day was great…unexpected…but, great," she told him with a grin, "but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe you only said what you did because you were upset about Ginny. I mean…because...when I kissed you, it was because I really do like you. I was just hoping to hear that it's the same for you."

Harry seemed somewhat uncomfortable at this point. Esther feared what his response was going to be. A rejection would definitely not make this situation any better. In fact, she'd probably only feel worse about herself.

"Esther, let me be clear," Harry began, "It's not that I don't like you, because I do. Just maybe not to the extent I said the other day…I mean…er…I just don't want to rush into anything. We're still getting to know each other, so I think we should keep it casual for now."

"Perfect," Esther said, brightening up once she heard his response, "I couldn't agree more."

"Great," Harry beamed.

"Great," she agreed. They stopped once they reached the courtyard and merely stared at each other. It was a nice moment, but of course Esther couldn't deny her true nature. "I know we're keeping it casual…but if I were to kiss you, would that be okay?"

Harry just stood there, either lost in the moment or unable to come up with a witty reply. Esther smiled, and decided to supply one for him.

"…Cause if it's not okay, then that's just too bad." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his gently, excited once she felt his lips form into a smile under hers.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This chapter makes me wanna shoot myself. Gahhhhhhh. Just keep in mind there are bigger time lapses in this one, so that's why everything seems to be moving fast when it's really not. I hope you guys like this chapter better than I do. And the ending is really serious for some reason? Idk...but it's a transitional chapter so keep that in mind! The next one will be better. Please, please, please review...I definitely need feedback for this monstrosity. Thanks (: **

Draco felt heat rise to his face and his stomach clench up as he was confronted with the sight of Esther in the embrace of Harry Potter. What the hell was she still doing with this prat? The bet was over, why would she choose to still spend her time with him? Then, Draco remembered his accusation that Esther had actually developed feelings for Harry. That thought simply made him want to throw up. How could she possibly like him? He was a Gryffindor…and definitely not as attractive. At least, that was Draco's humble opinion. Either way, he decided to make himself scarce as to avoid an awkward conversation with Esther while she was hanging out with her new boy toy. He shivered in disgust as he headed back to the common room. He felt bad enough that the girl was in tears after having sex with him…and now she was kissing Harry? None of it made sense. Not to mention that Draco hated himself for paying attention to the actions of one girl. Usually, after he banged a girl, he lost all interest in her. That was the major problem with his relationship with Pansy. He just kept her around for when he bored and feeling frisky. But, even though he had already banged Esther, he still wasn't satisfied. Trying to remove these torturing thoughts from his head, Draco headed back to his dorm in the hopes that Blaise would be there to help him sort everything out. He still hadn't even gotten to tell his best friend that he had slept with Esther, that's how distracted he was by all this other nonsense. At least he would get some satisfaction from telling his chum about his latest conquest.

"Wait a minute…you mean you actually did it?" Blaise asked in astonishment after Draco had explained the outcome of the bet and the night he had spent with Esther, "How was it?"  
"One of the best I've had," Draco replied smugly, "She likes it rough, that's for bloody sure."

"Brilliant," Blaise laughed, "Just your style."

"Exactly," he agreed with a smirk, "And I plowed Weasley on top of that. Even though, Potter wasn't missing much to tell the ruddy truth."

"That's not exactly surprising."

"No, not at all."

After a moment of silence in which both boys were relishing in Draco's victory, the blonde's smirk faded and a look of anger covered his face as he recalled the sight of Esther and Harry together.

"What's got you all bothered, mate?" Blaise asked as he furrowed his brow, "You should be happy."

"I would be if Esther wasn't still running around with Harry bloody Potter," Draco grumbled.

"Well, the girl has a crush, she'll get over it eventually," Blaise pointed out, "Anyways, who's your next conquest? Given it any thoughts—"

"I mean, what is she doing with him still?" Draco demanded as if Blaise would have all the answers, "Look at him, he's…well, he's Potter. He's a Gryffindor…and he's not even good looking…and I bet he's poorly endowed. You can tell just by looking at him!"

The dark boy shot his friend a strange look as he ranted about Harry's poor characteristics. Obviously, this was not Draco's usual reaction to seeing an ex-conquest with another guy.

"Er…Draco?"

"What?" he snapped, still writhing at the thought of his sworn enemy.

"Uh…is there any chance that you may actually…I dunno…like Esther?" Blaise questioned cautiously.

"Like Esther?" Draco repeated with a chuckle, "Please…I don't 'like' anybody."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Please," he scoffed, the expression on his face changing from amusement to a slight illness, "No…no way…" Draco seemed to ponder this for a moment, while Blaise just watched with interest.

"So…if she were to bang Potter—"

"I'll fucking kill him," Draco interrupted, shocked by his own words right after he said them.

"Hmm…interesting," Blaise chuckled, "That's not how you'd usually react."

"Oh, no," Draco said in horror as realization swept over him, "No, no, no, no, no, no. Blaise, what does this mean?"

"It means you have feelings for her," his friend returned amusedly.

"Oh, bloody hell! Feelings?" Draco repeated in disgust, "Feelings? I sleep with this bitch one time and I catch feelings?"

"Uh…you don't really catch feelings, mate. It just happens sometimes."

"Not to me," Draco said through gritted teeth.

"Well, come on, are you really surprised?" Blaise asked, "I mean, you've been obsessed with the girl for five years."

"Yeah, because I wanted to bed her, not because I wanted to marry her!" Draco shouted, "Once I shagged her, I didn't even think she'd matter anymore."

"Apparently you were wrong," Blaise told him as he burst into a fit of laughter.

"You find this funny?"

"Well…a little," he admitted, "I mean, I never thought I'd see the day that you'd actually like a girl legitimately."

"Forget this," Draco said tensely as he paced the room and thought of a solution to cure this…disease, "All I have to do is sleep with another girl, that'll make this go away."

"If you say so," Blaise chuckled. Draco shot his friend a dirty look as he tried to think up the perfect girl to make his next conquest.

"You'll see," he said, "Esther Sinclair wasn't the first girl I've banged, and she sure as hell won't be the last."

"So you actually got the job done, I see?" asked a cool voice coming from the door way.

Lucas Briggs trekked into the room, a smug look on his face as he took a seat on his four poster and gazed at Draco expectantly.

"Yeah, what's it to you Briggs?" Draco demanded coldly. Lucas merely shrugged as he removed his shoes and lay back on his bed with his hands behind his head. There was definitely a reason he was so interested in this topic, Draco could just tell that he was cooking up some sort of scheme.

"I dunno…I have interest," Lucas stated simply.

"What'd you mean 'interest'?" Draco inquired.

"In Esther," he replied.

"What? You like her?" Draco asked angrily, staring his fellow Slytherin down.

"Oh, God no," Lucas snickered, "I've just always wanted to…explore the territory, if you catch my drift."

"Please," Draco scoffed, "Like she'd ever hook up with a guy like you."

"Why not?" Lucas challenged, "She hooked up with you, didn't she?"

Draco's nostrils flared angrily as he held back from beating the kid to a bloody pulp. It was bad enough that Potter was interested in her, but now Lucas wanted to bang her? What the hell was this?

"Don't stress so much, Draco," Lucas said patronizingly, "She was just another conquest, don't be bitter if I decide to have some fun with her of my own."

Draco simply eyed him viciously without offering a reply. He didn't know what exactly he was feeling at the moment, but he knew Blaise was right…he did like Esther…

"_Dammit_," he thought bitterly.

He had a plan though. Sleeping with another girl seemed like the way to go. All he had to do was decide who would be the best target. Pansy crossed his mind, but then he realized that was just his fall back. He had nailed most of the Slytherin girls in his year, so the pickings were slim. Then suddenly, he came up with the perfect person: Taryn Belle. She was a year below him, Slytherin, relatively hot, and a friend of Esther's…that just made it even better. All he had to do was start working his charms on her ASAP, then these feelings he was stricken with would go away…

* * *

The next few weeks were interesting, to say the least. Things in Draco's world were completely flipped upside down. His seduction of Taryn Belle was taking way longer than it should have, which freaked him out on many levels. Not only was he off his game, but he also found that his heart wasn't really in this particular conquest. This was all made worse by the fact that he was constantly plagued by thoughts of Esther and the sight of her paling around with Harry Potter. He had taken to ignoring or avoiding her most of the time. On occasion he would taunt her and make conversation, but usually he chose to keep his distance. There was no point in aggravating the 'disease' with her presence...most likely, that would only make it worse. Nevertheless, Draco was determined to bed Taryn no matter what.

However, Esther found that she was pretty happy. She spent most of her spare time with Harry, which tended to have a positive effect on her overall mood. They had gotten a lot closer, and she could see their little 'friendship' developing into an actual 'thing'…which was both good and a little strange to her. In one way, it was what she wanted…but at the same time, she wasn't exactly the dating kind and she had a feeling Harry knew that. Not to mention that Esther was pretty sure he still wasn't over all the stuff that had happened with Ginny, but he had definitely made progress. Though, despite her reservations, Esther was hoping that she and Harry would be official soon. She had never actually liked a guy before, so she was a little taken aback by the strength of her feelings. She used to just like to toy with guys…and part of her wanted to go back to that, but she decided that this thing with Harry was worth the sacrifice. On a different note, Esther had noticed that Draco hadn't talked to her much since they slept together. It made sense, though. Draco was extremely fickle, and grew bored easily. She supposed that all her appeal was gone now that he had satisfied his lust. That's not to say that they didn't talk at all. He still would tease her from time to time for hanging around with Harry, but the frequency had definitely lessened. Esther couldn't tell if she was upset by this or not. Part of her did enjoy the constant banter with the kid, but at the same time Harry was her focus, so in the end it didn't really matter. It was all very strange though, but things were only bound to get stranger from there.

One evening, Esther traveled back to the Slytherin common room after spending some time in the library with Harry. Upon her entry, she was greeted by the sight of Draco Malfoy chatting up Taryn Belle on one of the couches in front of the fireplace. She couldn't help but smile darkly to herself as she watched the blonde boy in action. He was definitely close to getting the girl in bed, Esther could see that by their body language. After gazing upon the scene for a few moments, she decided to head towards her dormitory and get to sleep early that night. Though, once Draco noticed her presence, he left his latest conquest on the couch and came to approach Esther as she walked towards her dorm. She was surprised by this, and also partly amused.

"Evening, Draco," she said coyly, "Now, what could you possibly want to talk to me about while you're right in the middle of a seduction?"

"Don't be naïve, Sinclair," he returned, "if I were truly about to get some action, we wouldn't be having this conversation, now would we?"

"True," Esther agreed in amusement, "Well, it looks like the girl's taking the bait anyhow. It shouldn't be too long before you check her off your list. Nice work."

"You approve?" Draco questioned arrogantly, "I didn't think you'd want me going after any more of your friends considering what happened with Pansy and all."

"Yeah, well fortunately for you, Taryn's…how do I say this nicely…a whore," Esther told him, "She won't form any attachment to you, trust me."

"Good to know. Speaking of attachment, how's your pathetic little romance with Potter going?"

"How kind," Esther said sardonically as she narrowed her eyes, "It's fine."

"Just fine?" Draco asked, sounding more curious than Esther would've expected him to. She furrowed her brow and shot him a disbelieving look.

"Why do you care?" she questioned him with a laugh.

"Care? Please," he scoffed, "The only thing I _care _about is getting your little friend Taryn into my room and having my way with her." He offered her a smirk.

"Then get to it," Esther said with an eyebrow raise, "The Draco Malfoy I know would've had the job done already."

"And the Esther Sinclair I know is a tease, not someone's girlfriend," Draco challenged as his smirk grew. He raised his eyebrows at her, "Guess we're both full of surprises."

The two merely stared each other down for a few moments, though Esther felt that this was one of the strangest exchanges she had ever had with Draco Malfoy. She did notice that she had missed their bantering, but that was beside the point.

"Good night, Sinclair," Draco said smoothly before shooting her one final smirk and turning to head back towards the common room.

* * *

So many things were on Draco's mind as he and Taryn snogged heatedly on his four poster that night. For one thing, he wasn't even thinking about the girl he was about to hook up with. His thoughts were clouded by the girl he had just had a staring match with not fifteen minutes before he had taken Taryn up to his room. This was bloody awful. He just couldn't focus on what was going on in the moment, which was odd considering that he was mostly an 'in the moment' kind of guy. But as he moved on to kissing Taryn's neck and unbuckling his pants, he found himself more and more distracted by other things. Why had he gotten up to chat with Esther when he truly was in the middle of a seduction? Especially since he had done such a good job of ignoring her lately. It was just an instinct; he just got right off the couch as soon as he saw her. That wasn't the point. He couldn't go back and analyze his past actions, he just had to focus on the girl in front of him.

Taryn seemed to be really into what they were doing, and Draco tried to be…but it just wasn't doing it for him. He couldn't even get aroused, and that truly scared him. What was he supposed to tell this broad? This sort of thing had _never_ happened to him, ever. All of a sudden, he pulled away from her and moved to sit on the edge of his bed. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration and zipped his pants back up. This was going to be a fun one to explain.

"What's the matter?" Taryn asked as she sat up to sit next to him.

"I can't do this," Draco said simply.

"What?"

"Am I speaking a different bloody language?" he demanded impatiently, "Get out."

Taryn shot him a dirty look before readjusting her skirt and shooting up from the four poster. She stomped to the door, and slammed it shut behind her once she had exited the room. Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance at the thought of the girl. She was a definite downgrade anyways, no wonder he couldn't…

"Bloody hell," he groaned angrily as he fell backwards onto his bed.

* * *

One weekend afternoon, Harry and Esther had decided to spend some time together in the courtyard. The weather outside was beautiful, and the two wanted to spend some just talking. Though, that didn't mean they didn't steal some kisses every so often. Needless to say, it made for an overall wonderful day. Esther was really happy with the way things had been going, and she had a feeling Harry was too. She had a soft spot for him, and she couldn't quite understand why. She didn't choose to fight it, though. Her gut instinct was definitely guiding her on this one.

After the two decided to head back into the castle, their lovely afternoon sort of went downhill. As they were traveling through the corridors and approaching the Great Hall, they passed by an extremely pissed-off-looking Ginny Weasley. That was awkward enough on its own. She shot Esther a dirty look as she headed in the opposite direction from the couple and merely stared upon Harry with longing. However, they decided to find amusement in the situation and laughed amongst themselves about the over-dramatic actions of the red head. However, their next encounter wasn't quite as amusing. Once they were just outside the threshold of the Great Hall, they were stopped by a cool, smooth voice.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Draco Malfoy said mockingly.

Esther froze in place and closed her eyes, hoping that this was some sort of dream. Dream…that was a good one. It was more like a bloody nightmare. Draco and Harry in the same proximity was bad enough on a normal basis, if you added in the fact that Draco knew everything about why Esther initially went after Harry, the situation was made a million times more volatile. Harry was the first to turn around, but Esther followed his action quickly. She was immediately on the defensive considering how bad her circumstances were at the current moment.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry snapped.

"Excuse me, Potter…who was talking to you?" Draco returned coldly as his eyes flickered over to Esther. She shot him a deadly look and he merely smirked.

"Who else would you be talking to?" Harry asked.

"I was actually wanting to have a chat with Sinclair, if you don't mind Potter," Draco spat.

"Wait…what…?" Harry whipped his head to look down at Esther. She bit her lip awkwardly as she attempted to deal with this situation.

"Draco, do we really have to do this now?" Esther inquired impatiently, ignoring Harry's confused comments.

Draco raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged, then began to laugh as he feigned realization.

"Ooh, wait a minute…is this a date?" Esther rolled her eyes as she continued to stare at him piercingly. Harry just looked plain pissed, but that was to be expected. Draco's smirk became even more wicked as he continued on.

"Well isn't that cute," he taunted, "No really, you two are just bloody adorable."

"Malfoy…come on…" Esther cut in as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"By all means, continue your date," Draco pressed on, "Tsk, tsk…Potter and the whore of the Slytherin house together…the temperature must've dropped in hell…"

"Draco," Esther nearly screamed, "Just stop…"

"Alright, I'm done," he said arrogantly as he began to back away from the scene, "You better find me in the common room later, Sinclair…I'm holding you to that."

"Bye," Esther yelled impatiently in return as she grabbed Harry by the sleeve and turned him around to face the Great Hall.

The two finally went inside, though the tension between them could be cut with a knife. Harry was obviously angered by the whole encounter with Draco, and she supposed she couldn't blame him. They were enemies, after all. She also had never mentioned to him that she and Draco were acquainted….and if he knew their entire history, he'd probably never speak to her again. But what Harry didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"So…you're friends with Malfoy?" Harry demanded suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Well, kind of…" Esther began cautiously, "but it's really not that big of a deal, really."

"It is to me."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want that creep talking to my girlfriend," Harry shot back. In an instant, nothing else mattered to Esther. Harry had just used the term 'girlfriend' to describe her. That was definitely a new development.

"Girlfriend?" she asked with a pleased yet quizzical look.

"Er…well…I mean…" Harry trailed off, obviously embarrassed by his slip up, "You don't have to—I didn't mean—"

"Stop," Esther interrupted with a laugh as she placed her fingers over his lips, "Girlfriend works for me."

Harry offered her a bright smile as she boldly grabbed his hand and held it in hers. Suddenly, the whole Draco issue was put to rest, at least for the time being. Of course, Esther wasn't dumb enough to think that it would never come again, but for now they would just let it be and enjoy their newly established relationship status. Esther couldn't believe this was happening. She was happy, but it was strange…there was still an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Despite this good news, she felt as though things were going to change from here. And it wouldn't necessarily be for the better.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me…" Draco trailed off angrily, simply staring at Esther after she made the announcement about her and Harry. As promised, she had sought him out in the common room that night after dinner. Though it seemed as though Draco really had nothing in particular to talk to her about; he was just messing with her and trying to get a rise out of Harry, which Esther supposed she should have expected. Nevertheless, she was eager to see his reaction to her news. She had a feeling it would make for some interesting conversation.

"Don't act so surprised, Draco," Esther said haughtily, "You saw us together this afternoon, or have you already forgotten?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually date the prat," Draco returned, seeming more upset than Esther would've thought he'd be. She was under the impression that he'd make fun of her as he always did, not that he'd show actual disdain over the relationship.

"Well I am," she verified, "…I'm waiting to hear the jokes at my expense…come on, I'm sure you've got tons of them." She smirked and raised an eyebrow, hoping that Draco would accept the challenge.

"There's nothing funny about this," Draco told her bluntly, "I can't believe you'd actually lower yourself and date this tool." He shot her a look of disgust and Esther merely stared at him as the smirk on her face faded.

"Come on, Sinclair," he went on, "This isn't you. You're not the dating kind and you know it."

There were a few moments of silence as Esther processed all that he was saying. It actually hit a nerve. He did have a point, and the fact that he was so openly conveying it to her simply confirmed the speck of doubt she had. It took her awhile to formulate a reply as she gazed at the blonde boy in front of her.

"Well, maybe I've changed…"

"Not bloody likely," he shot back as he cocked his eyebrow.

"…Why're you being like this?" Esther demanded.

Draco narrowed his eyes and took a few steps closer to her so that they were only inches apart. He was so close that Esther was tempted to back away, but for some reason she stayed frozen in her spot.

"Why're you ruining something that was already perfect?"

Esther's expression became puzzled as he shot her one of the nastiest looks she'd ever seen before he turned on his heel and strutted away from her. That wasn't exactly how she had expected this conversation to go. Lately, nothing had turned out how she had expected it to be.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Hey everybody. Sorry this chapter isn't a legit update, and it's kind of a sad note...but at this point, I don't think I can continue to work on this story. I'm sorry, and it's a real shame because I loved writing it and your reviews and support made me sooo happy. But, real life events have made it clear that I can't write a story like this considering the way the plot was going to go since it reflected some stuff that happened in reality. I'm writing this note just because I didn't wanna just abandon the story because I really, truly loved writing it and it would upset me more to just leave it as it were without expressing that I couldn't work on it any longer. There was a plot arc where Esther and Draco were somewhat but not entirely sneaking around behind Harry's back while he was dating Esther, but (sorry to get personal) since I just learned that my best friend was sneaking around behind my back with my ex-boyfriend that I was still in love with, I just can't bring myself to write this story anymore. I'm really sorry, I really am. I feel like a douche bag for even posting this, but closure is better than just leaving shit open. And anyways, I was going to offer the opportunity for someone to adopt this story if they would like to. I'd really like to see it finished, so if anyone has any interest in adopting this story to finish it, just message me and we'll talk about it :) Again, I'd like to thank every single person for reading and reviewing my story, it honestly meant so much and got me out of a lot of dark times. I can't even express how much people's support for this story has meant to me. Anyways, sorry again for the chapter tease. PM me if you wanna talk about continuing this story for me. Thanks :)


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